2024-04-16 09:46:15
Archaeologists say these frescoes are among the best found in the ruins of the ancient site.
The high black walls of the large banquet hall are depicted with mythical Greek figures such as Helen of Troy. The floor of the hall is almost completely covered with mosaics, containing more than a million individual white tiles.
A third of the lost city is still waiting to be cleared from the rubble created by the volcano. The current excavations – the largest in an entire human generation – emphasize the importance of Pompeii as a witness to the Roman Empire and culture, writes the BBC.
Park director dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel presented the “black room” last Thursday.
It is likely that the harsh color of the walls was chosen to hide the accumulated smoke deposits of the lamps used for entertainment after sunset. “In the shining light, the drawings would almost come alive,” says the park’s director.
Two frescoes dominate.
In one of them, the god Apollo tries to seduce the saint Cassandra. According to legend, because she rejected him, her prophecies were ignored.
The second mural tells of the tragic consequences: Prince Paris meets the beautiful Helen, and Cassandra knows that this union will lead to the Trojan War and kill them all.
The Black Room is the latest treasure to be discovered in excavations that began 12 months ago, which will be shown in a documentary series by the BBC and Lion TV in April.
A vast block of residential and commercial buildings, called the ninth region, is being cleared of several meters of pumice and ash thrown up by Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago.
The workers have to act quickly to protect the new finds – and get everything possible into storage. The frescoes, which must remain in place, are applied plaster glue on the back so that they do not detach from the walls. The masonry is reinforced with scaffolding, and a temporary roof is covered over it.
The ninth region provided archaeologists with a detective story. 19th century At the end of the excavations, a laundry room was discovered in one corner. Recent work has now revealed an adjacent wholesale bakery and a stately residence with a black room.
The team is convinced that these three rooms can be connected not only physically – through plumbing and certain passageways – but also in terms of ownership. Numerous inscriptions with the initials “ARV” testify to the identity of the owner. These letters are displayed on the walls and even on the millstones of the bakery.
“We know who ARV is: it is Aulas Rustijus Veras,” says park archaeologist Dr. Sophie Hay. – We know him from another political propaganda carried out in Pompeii. He was a politician. He was extremely rich. We think he may have owned the fancy house behind the bakery and laundry.”
However, all that is clear is that all real estate objects were under repair during the eruption.
The escaped workers left the roof tiles neatly stacked, the pots are still filled with lime mortar and seem to be just waiting to be used. The builders’ trowels and picks have also survived – although the wooden handles have long since rotted away.
Dr. Lia Trapani catalogs everything found in the excavations. She reaches into one of the thousand or so crates of artifacts in the warehouse and pulls out a turquoise cone. “It’s a lead weight off a plumb line.” Like today’s builders, Roman workers would have used it to level vertical surfaces.
She turns the cone between her fingers, “If you look closely, you’ll see that there’s still a small piece of Roman string attached to it.”
Dr. Alessandro Russo is the second archaeologist who led the excavations. He shows a ceiling fresco found in one room. Its parts, which were destroyed during the eruption, were put together in a jigsaw style on a large table.
He sprays the plaster pieces with water, bringing out the details and vibrant colors. Landscapes with Egyptian characters, food and flowers can be seen, as well as impressive theatrical masks.
“This is my favorite find of this dig – because it is complex and rare. It is of high quality, intended for a person of high status,” explains the scientist.
But if the fresco on the ceiling of the magnificent building can be described as exceptional, then what is known about the bakery also speaks to a more brutal aspect of Roman life: slavery.
Apparently the people who worked in the business were kept locked up in horrible conditions and lived alongside the donkeys that turned the millstones. It appears that there was one window and it had iron bars.
It was in the bakery that the only skeletons were also discovered. Two adults and a child were crushed by falling rocks. It is speculated that they may have been slaves who were imprisoned and could not escape the eruption. However, this is only speculation.
“When we dig, we are surprised by what we see,” explains one of the leading archaeologists, Dr. Gennaro Iovino. – Much like a theater stage, you have the scenery, the backdrop – and the culprit, which is Mount Vesuvius. An archaeologist has to fill in the gaps well – to tell the story of missing actors, families and children, people who are no longer there.”
2024-04-16 09:46:15